The National Eisteddfod Academy (NEA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 21st Young Performer Awards competition.
The highly regarded awards event presented by the NEA, a non-profit organisation for youth development in music, dance, drama and visual arts, was held on Saturday 11 May 2024 at the Roodepoort Theatre and attracted entries from top achievers in the arts from all over the country.
Following three preliminary rounds which began in February, 28 talented young performers and groups competed for the gold, silver and bronze medal, and the prize money of R20 000.
The Winners of the 21st National Eisteddfod Young Performers Award Competition are:
- of the Gold Medal and R10 000 in cash: Labyrinth, Hip-hop Dance group from Parktown High School for Girls
- of the Silver Medal and R3 000 in cash: the cellist, Christiaan Naude (Grd 11) from Hoërskool Monument, trained by Carel Henn
- of the Bronze Medal and R2 000 in cash – Tzu-Ching Kattie Kao (Grd 9) from Reddam House Bedfordview in the Dance category
The 2024 Final Round Adjudicator’s panel comprised Malie Kelly, Judy Ditchfield, Lesta Erasmus, David Johnson and Francois Möller.
In the special category Most Inspiring Performance, the adjudicators nominated Benjamin Vorster, a Grade 3 violinist. They also gave special recognition to three participants who, although they did not win any awards, in their opinion deserved Special Recognition for their performances – they were Hildegard Schraader (Speech and Drama), James Daniel and Sinhle Mona (both for Contemporary Music).
The annual NEA Young Performer Awards affords young, upcoming learners in the performing arts from across the country the opportunity to attempt to reach and compete at the Finals and this has proven to be the springboard for many of the participants.
Past winners and participants that have gone on to excel on the professional stage include Henno William, a NEA 2015 Silver medallist and a SA’s Got Talent finalist who was signed by a New York-based music executive; Julian Hepburn, also a finalist in SA’s Got Talent; top achievers in Ballet, Andile Ndlovu and Camille Bracher who forged international careers – Ndlovu with the Washington Ballet and Bracher, the Royal Ballet Company; the young pianist, Iman Bulbulia, who performed internationally and at the prestigious Carnegie Hall and Carmen Pretorius, now an established musical theatre and TV star in the entertainment industry with leading roles in Cinderella, Jersey Boys, Chicago and currently again in Mamma Mia. Cantona James featured in Arendsvlei, Blood & Water and recently Spinners on Showmax.
On the heels of the successful Young Performer Awards competition the National Eisteddfod of South Africa® is calling for entries to its 2024 National Eisteddfod season.
Over and above performing live at the various eisteddfod venues, aspiring performers in every corner of the country have the opportunity to participate by means of video recorded performances. The closing date for discounted Early Bird online entries is 31 May 2024 or 31 July (normal entry fees apply). The final deadline for hardcopy video and art entries is 20 September 2024.
“Although we acknowledge the achievements of top achievers in the various regions of the National Eisteddfod of South Africa®, we don’t consider the eisteddfod a ‘competition.’ When adjudicating a performance, the members of the NEA Adjudicators’ Forum are required to give feedback on each participant’s achievements on his/her road to attaining mastery, rather than a comparison to other performers in order to determine a winner in each session,” says CEO of the NEA, Dr Francois van den Berg.
“It is for this reason that the National Eisteddfod platform provides a unique opportunity for the ‘magic of the arts’ to come into play, which in turn causes wonderful things to happen in the inner workings of young minds that encourage and enable them to take a stand in this world.”
All information – the NEA prospectus, different categories and requirements, dates for activities in particular regions, entry forms, entry fees and guidelines for the submission of online entries and virtual entries – is available on the NEA website – www.eisteddfod.co.za
